


Helping Hands

by Toastybird



Category: Half-Life
Genre: Angst, Gen, I am once again writing a fic about the HEV suit running out of power because, Other, insert marge holding a potato meme
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 04:01:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29878773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toastybird/pseuds/Toastybird
Summary: "Freeman - what happened to the back of your hazard suit?"Dread welled in the pit of his stomach. He raised a hand and ran it gently behind his shoulder, where the main power supply was. Although he couldn't see it, he could feel the sharp edges of a massive gash torn in the metal. Apparently, the incident with the cart hadn't left him unscathed.He squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. This was bad. Very, very bad.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29





	1. Have A Very Safe Day

**_BEEP!_ **

  
A fiery glow lit up the room as clouds of smoke and fire billowed up from the missile's engines firing outside, and inside, Gordon slumped back against the wall with a tired exhale. He'd done it. What purpose the rocket served, he wasn't entirely sure - something about a satellite array, or a teleportation network, along those lines. It wasn't a nuke, he knew that at least. Not much else could be gathered from the disjointed bits of hastily conveyed information he'd received from the occasional scientist or security guard that hadn't been killed yet. But he trusted them, and if the rocket had to be launched, he knew he would have to be the one to do it. And he had.

  
Once the roaring of the engine had faded, the blast doors re-opened, letting in a whoosh of cool air. It was a welcome relief to Gordon, who'd been sweating like a pig for the last 2 hours. The constant flood of morphine and adrenaline he'd been receiving couldn't be exactly _good_ for his body, and the suit, while effective at protecting his internal organs, functioned more like a mobile sauna in this poorly ventilated facility. At least something else would probably take him out before the chronic dehydration caught up with him. The occasional stolen soda could only sustain a body for so long, but in the meantime he had better (worse?) things to worry about.

Speaking of better things to worry about, he had to get going. Surely there had to be someone waiting for him up ahead, if the military hadn't gotten there yet. He vaguely remembered something one of the guards had said to him a while back, something about a scientist or two hiding out in a lab up ahead but again, nothing was certain - for all he knew they could have been executed by now, or eaten, or dissolved by acid, or electrocuted, or turned into the zombie-like creatures shambling around the facility and left to suffer, or.......

Gordon sighed. He didn't like to think about it. 

So many people had died today. Just......what, 6? 7? 8 hours ago? He'd been adjusting his tie and getting coffee, looking forward to sharing a beer with Barney later that night and getting some much-needed rest, but now.....

Before that thought had any real time to sink in, he pushed himself up off the floor.

Slowly, Gordon crept around the corner, retracing his steps back outside. Despite the fact that the explosives rigged in the outside room had been disarmed (or more accurately, set off by a hapless marine when he was just barely far enough away to avoid being turned into soup), he still flinched as his body passed through the laser triggers. He knew all too well that the slightest wrong move could bring his life to a violent and abrupt end, and at this point any laser immediately sent his anxiety skyrocketing. 

A soft breeze ruffled his matted hair as he stepped past the final blast doors. It was dark - something he hadn't noticed before, too preoccupied with not getting shot. How long had it been? Stars shimmered through the spotty clouds above him, working along with the warm yellow floodlights to illuminate the area. The concrete 'funnel' from where the rocket had just erupted was marked with black streaks, and Gordon stepped carefully around it before punching in the code to the final blast doors and continuing on.

He was sure now it had to have been at least 8-9 hours since....that morning. Keeping track of time hadn't exactly been a major concern of his, but his tiredness began to come back to him as he realized just how long he'd been going for.

It was probably best not to dwell on that right now. To his left, a large door had opened up past the cart rail, revealing a small garage. The familiar firetruck red of a maintenance ladder caught his eye as it descended through a hole in the floor presumably to a room below. Gordon paused for a moment, listening intently. He heard nothing and took it as a sign of relative safety, climbing down with his head on a swivel and dropping to the floor.

The room was small, almost cozy in odd way, most of its space taken up by the crates that littered the room and the large, rusty cart attached to a well-used old rail system.

Another cart. Gordon wasn't exactly a fan of them to say the least - they often malfunctioned, and the amount of noise they made ensured that taking anything by surprise was impossible. Nevertheless, it was better than tripping and being fried by the electrified rails. 

He stepped forward and leaned to the side to get a better look down the corridor, his eyes following the line of the rails until they disappeared around a distant corner. Just as he expected, it was the same as the others - just barely enough of a ledge on both sides to squeeze by on without getting electrocuted. As much as he _didn't_ want to, he'd have to take yet another cart ride, whether he liked it or not. 

Upon stepping inside, he was greeted with........way too many controls. The last one had been fairly simple to operate, but this one looked more like something you'd find in a missile silo. Buttons and levers marked with indecipherable symbols covered the control panel, and Gordon's hand hovered over the biggest ambiguously green button before hesitantly pressing down on it (what's the worst that could happen, after all?) To his pleasant surprise, the cart sputtered to life and immediately began chugging steadily down the rail.

  
Gordon's gaze drifted down to the panel in front of him. He knew it would be best to just leave it alone, but he couldn't help it. Curiosity killed the cat, as they say. What did the rest of them _do?_ Absentmindedly, his finger brushed the smaller, red button next to the green one that had started it in the first place. In response, the cart shuddered and began to move faster. 

And it continued to keep moving faster, with Gordon's hands completely clear of the control panel.

  
His heart skipped a beat. He jabbed the button again, in hopes that it would reverse the process. This, apparently, was the exact wrong thing to do. The cart's speed nearly doubled as it surged forward with an electric whine.

In a full blown panic now, Gordon slammed his fist down on the brake. Or at least what he thought was the brake. Or something. The big red button. _A_ big red button. 

It did nothing. 

The cart began to pick up speed and the rails screeched beneath it as Gordon stumbled backwards. It wasn't slowing down. He mashed his hands down on every button and lever he could find in a frenzy. ONE of these damn things had to do something. The orange one? The yellow thing? The pull-pin? The dial?? The cart careened around the corner and slammed Gordon into the door, leaving him doubled over and clinging on for dear life. Hot sparks flew as something cracked underneath the cart. It kicked up and jerked to the side like a bucking horse, ripping lines into the galvanized metal. Surprised shouts from two soldiers were cut short with a loud, meaty _thunk._ It wasn't on the rails anymore. It wouldn't stop. A thin metal sliding door obscured the doorway ahead. It wasn't stopping. It wasn't stopping, _it wasn't stopping **FUCK-**_

**_-CRASH-_ **

The cart broke effortlessly through the barrier and plunged deep into the water below, pinning him between it and the wall. Shrapnel whizzed inches away from his throat. Gordon felt something give way in the back of the HEV suit and instinctively clawed his way out of the ruined cart, gasping and sputtering as he broke the surface of the murky water.

_"P-P POWER. SIXTY-F-F-IVE PER-PERCENT."_

  
He paddled in place and spun around, trying to get his bearings. The cart had launched directly downward and landed squarely on its head - and the fact that he hadn't been crushed by it was nothing short of a miracle. The same couldn't be said for the two soldiers, however, whose dark silhouettes Gordon could just barely make out from underneath the debris.

With a shaky breath, he surveyed the area. A metal catwalk jutted out from the wall and formed a semi-circle around him, both ends meeting at a wall that split the room in two. A section of the catwalk was slightly cracked - if he could jam his hands in the split, he just might be able to pull himself up.

_"POWER-R-R-R. SIX-IXTY PERCENT."_

With a little effort, he managed to haul himself out of the water and scramble up thanks to the suit's artificial muscles. He winced at the ear-piercing screeching of metal on metal as the HEV suit rubbed against the catwalk. It felt like a ice pick being jabbed into his head directly through the temple and the disjointed warnings of the suit weren't exactly helping.

As he could see now, the wall was surprisingly short. The staircase to his left led back down into the water from where he had just come, and the chunk ripped out of the catwalk meant there was no way for him to make it to the other side without getting in the water again. From what little of it he could see though, the catwalk appeared to continue circling the room on the other side. Maybe there was somewhere he could go from over there.

Clamping his fingers firmly over the lip of the wall, Gordon attempted to push himself up but to his surprise he hardly budged.

He frowned. Normally a simple pull-up like this wouldn't be an issue with the added strength of the HEV suit. He'd just done it, and in the water no less. Nevertheless, he jammed one foot into the side of the wall and managed to clamber up enough to peek over the edge of the wall.

Gordon sighed. 

More water. 

There was no other way to go but down.

* * *

* * *

After a harrowing ordeal of rushing from air pocket to air pocket, Gordon crawled out of the water, now strongly resembling a drowned rat. He dragged himself to the nearest corner and sprawled out against the wall to rest for a moment. Air was never something he would have thought he'd taken for granted, but now as he drew in deep breaths he couldn't have been more thankful for it. If he never in his life had to get into the water again, he'd be happy.

Not wanting to stay in the eerily lit corridor for too long, he pushed himself to his feet and continued on.

It wasn't long before he turned a corner and was greeted with-

\- _even_ _more water._

Another submerged room, once again surrounded by a catwalk made of galvanized, rusty metal. This one was much smaller, complete with a......shark cage hanging down from above?

Gordon stared at it, eyes narrowed. If only he'd been able to work here long enough to be promoted to a higher position with better security clearance. He would have killed to know what the hell was going on in here on a _normal_ day.

His eyes were drawn to a large doorway at the far side of the room. The catwalk was slippery and the boots of the HEV suit weren't known for their slip-resistant properties, but if he walked slowly and carefully he could probably make it.

But before he could take a single step, something splashed heavily in the water behind him. Gordon whirled around just in time to catch a glimpse of ripples spreading outward from a quickly disappearing shadow.

There was something in the water. Something uncomfortably _large_.

As if on cue, the entire catwalk rattled as the _something_ in question rammed into it beneath Gordon's feet. He didn't need any more motivation to keep moving. Flattening himself against the wall, he shuffled along as fast as he could manage to the doorway across from him without slipping. Whatever that thing was, he wanted nothing to do with it. As soon as he cleared the catwalk he broke into a sprint and nearly flew up the old ladder that greeted him as he rounded the corner.

There was a figure in the room above. Gordon's hand immediately jerked to his handgun as features began to register in his head. Dress shoes, lab coat, brightly colored tie, terrified face........

Oh.

The man jumped in surprise.

"Oh! Freeman, it's you....."

Gordon gave a small wave in response.

"Thank goodness someone's here to help. Have you seen that thing out there?"

He pointed outside. Gordon hauled himself over the top rung over the ladder and followed the scientist's gaze, peering over the rusty cage that hung above the water.

"They told us it's some kind of shark, but...it's not. It's not like any shark I've ever seen, at the very least. I don't know what it is or why we have it but it's _not that._ "

He shuddered.

"I don't dare go out there. I believe it can sense when someone is walking by. One of my colleagues tried to leave to get help just a few minutes before you got here, and......well........"

He paused with a gulp, wringing his hands and staring down at the water outside.

"......I.....hate to ask this of you, but you may be able to take it down with that tranquilizer gun. If you drop down into that cage, you should be able to see it well enough to get a clear shot without putting either one of us in danger."

Gordon didn't feel like bothering to ask exactly what 'it' was. He'd seen enough bizarre creatures trying to kill him today, and frankly, he didn't think he could stomach learning about another one. Whatever it was, he was at least 90% sure it wouldn't like being shot.

"<Is the cage stable?>" he signed to the scientist.

"It's........well, Black Mesa's been using it for quite some time now. I wouldn't expect it to fail any time soon. It's probably safe."

"<That's a big 'probably.'>"

"It's safe, really. They wouldn't be using it if it wasn't safe."

Gordon raised an eyebrow.

"I....I know. I know. But please. Trust me."

He sighed.

"You're lucky you made it over here at all without that..... _thing_ eating you alive. I wouldn't count on your good fortune saving you a second time. Just be careful and I'm sure everything will be fine."

'Everything will be fine.'

Where had he heard that before?

_"POWE-E-E-ER. FIFTY-F-FIVE PERC-CENT."_

It only just occurred to him now that that......didn't sound right. Why was its voice so fragmented and rough? Not to mention the alarming rate at which it was losing power - 10% of the HEV suit's power storage was meant to last around 2 hours, not less than a half an hour. And why _had_ it been so hard to get over that wall? At least there was a charging station here. Maybe that would fix things up. Gordon connected himself to the charger with a satisfying _-click-_ and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

_"POWER-R. FIFTY-Y-Y-YPERCENT-T."_

Almost immediately, the suit felt heavier. Noticeably so.

The man gasped behind him.

"Freeman - what happened to the back of your hazard suit?"

Dread welled in the pit of his stomach. He raised a hand and ran it gently behind his shoulder, where the main power supply was. Although he couldn't see it, he could feel the sharp edges of a massive gash torn in the metal. Apparently, the incident with the cart hadn't left him unscathed.

He squeezes his eyes shut and took a deep breath. This was bad. Very, very bad.

"Do....you think you'll be alright, for now?"

'Not being alright' wasn't really an option in this situation, but he nodded. Just a few minutes, in and out, wouldn't be enough to sap the suit's power completely. It would almost be quite literally like shooting fish in a barrel. Just a few minutes in and out. It would be fine.

"Alright, if you're sure. But afterwards, I'll see what I can do."

After a moment of hesitation, he cautiously edged out onto the platform and dropped down into the cage. The tranquilizer gun and appropriate ammunition were ready and waiting, as promised. All he had to do was load it and land a good shot on whatever this was. The quicker the better. The man stood in the doorway above, watching with worried eyes.

Gordon hesitated, examining the apparatus that kept the cage in place. Surely that one rusty cable couldn't be enough to hold the weight of-

_"FREEMAN, LOOK OUT!"_

  
**_*CRACK-*_ **

His head slammed against the roof of the cage as it plummeted downward with a deafening splash. Water quickly filled his open mouth and clouds of choking silt bloomed around him as the cage settled to the bottom. The HEV suit stuttered out something inaudible. Seeing for more than a foot or two was impossible. Dazed, Gordon quickly maneuvered his way out of the safety of the cage and kicked upward. As soon as he breached the surface he sucked in a massive breath of air, floundering helplessly in the murky water. The suit was dragging him down. 100+ pounds of metal and machinery actively trying to keep him under. It took all of his strength just to keep his head above the surface, and even then his muscles burned and screamed at him to just let himself sink. There had to be something around here he could grab onto to keep himself afloat-

There. Just a few feet away. A spot where the catwalk had been bent down a bit, low enough for him climb out. If he could just swim close enough to it to get a handhold.....

Something flickered in the corner of his vision. Movement, maybe. His hands slapped clumsily against the slippery metal.

There it was again. A shadow. A really, _really big_ shadow. And it was getting closer by the second. The water began to feel more like cold molasses as he tried to push himself up, pumping his legs as hard as he could. If he could just prop himself up a little bit more, get at a better angle....

  
His foot made contact with something soft. Something alive.

The _something_ was swimming directly underneath him.

This, however, barely had any time to register in Gordon's head before the creature sunk its teeth into deep into his side and pulled him under.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this made me realize just how video-gamey some of the routes you take in Half-Life 1 are........who in their right mind just goes 'Oh yeah, lemme just dive straight down into this system of sunken hallways without having any clue whatsoever where they might lead or if there's any air pockets!" Who just goes "Yeah, I think I'm just gonna drop in that definitely not OSHA approved shark cage because this dude says I need to!" Gordon Freeman, apparently. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Anyway, the 7 chapters on this is tentative. Might end up being 8 or more (or less?), we'll see. I was thinking about how playing through HL1 you're basically alone, and it feels really lonely, but there's always a bunch of NPCs along the way that help you and guide you. I wonder what that would be like from Gordon's perspective, having all of those people selflessly help you out but knowing that they're all going to die and knowing you'll never get to see them again. TL;DR, I get way too attached to fake video game people and now I'm writing this fic lol


	2. Ichthyosaur

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's where the worst of the 'Graphic Depictions of Violence' take place, FYI :)
> 
> (Also, AU where there aren't barnacles all over the ceiling of that room because I completely forgot they existed when I was writing this whoops-)

The beast knew full well that Gordon was completely at its mercy. Whatever fighting prowess he might have had on land was useless here. The water was its domain. It shook him like a ragdoll and pulled him downward, his arms and legs flailing haphazardly in the red clouds that bloomed in his wake as it dragged him along the bottom. Here, he was helpless. Fresh meat.

The water that had flooded his lungs burned like molten metal but but no amount of fighting could free him from the creature's mouth. He batted weakly against its side, trying to find an eye, gills, a weak spot, _something,_ but nothing phased it and with another violent shake his head bashed against one of the large pipes that snaked through the water. Sparks danced in his blurry vision. It darted to the side and shook him again, this time his head only narrowly missing a concrete block that jutted out from the wall. It knew what it was doing.

 _"P-O-O-OWERFORT-Y-YTHIRTY-FORT-Y PERCENT."_ The frantic voice of the HEV suit was quickly drowned out by the water rushing past his ears and the horrible growling of the beast. He couldn't breathe. He needed air. But the teeth that stabbed deep into his side were cruel and relentless, and the creature had seemingly decided to opt for shredding him instead of trying to beat him to death against the walls of the room. It tossed him to the side and caught hold of him again in an attempt to get a better grip on its prey. If the suit hadn't been actively hindering his movement, he might have had a chance of winning this fight - not a good chance, but a chance. In this state he was nothing but soft pink food in a hard metal shell and the creature seemed to instinctively know this. The steady flow of blood coming from his wounds only sent it into even more of a feeding frenzy as it ground its teeth back and forth, Gordon caught between them like a slab of meat in an industrial grinder.

_"MA-MAJOR LACER-ER-MAJ-MAJOR FRAC-C-TURE-BLOOD LOSS-S-S-DETECTED. INTERNAL BL-L-L-L-"_

His handgun. _His handgun._ Could he even reach it? He twisted between the beast's jaws and fumbled blindly at his hip until his fingers met the latches of the holster.

**_-BANG-_ **

The first shot only angered it. With a nasty _-crunch-_ it tightened its jaws even more and Gordon screamed, releasing the last bit of air in his lungs with a torrent of bubbles.

**_-BANG-_ **

Somehow, the second shot also found its mark. The thing's blood mixed with Gordon's as it bit down harder than he had thought possible and shook him again. He writhed in pain, struggling against the spikes that had thoroughly skewered him like a fork through sausage. Every move he made only made it worse as its teeth twisted deep in his gut. Even the sturdy metal of the HEV suit had begun to warp under the pressure and dig into his already damaged ribcage.

_"PO-WER-TWEN-EN-EN-TENPERCEN-T-T- VITAL SIGNS A-A-ARE DROPP-"_

In a last act of desperation, he tore his arm upward and forced the barrel of the gun deep into the nearest of the creature's soulless yellow eyes. As it sawed even further into his flesh he pulled the trigger-

**_-BANG-_ **

**_-_** and with that, all at once, it went still. Its muscles relaxed. Its barbed tail went slack. Its jaws released. Its one remaining eye glazed over. Its twitching body began to sink, drifting lazily toward an open doorway near the bottom of the room and bumping gently against the sides of it. Fueled now by adrenaline alone, Gordon yanked himself off of its teeth and pushed against the wall as hard as he could. Pure black was beginning to gather at the edges of his vision. The dead weight of the suit meant that his efforts didn't carry him far, but it carried him far enough - he scrambled along the bottom, pushing his body down the sunken hallway with every last bit of strength he had left, until he caught a glimpse of the surface and his head bobbed into open air.

_"P-PPO-POW-WER FIVEP-PER-PER-PER-PER-USER DEATH IMM-"_

The automated voice cut off mid sentence, with the death rattle of an electric whine.

Gordon clawed his way away from the water as fast as his damaged body could carry him and forced himself into a half-standing position before stumbling forward and immediately collapsing on the slippery catwalk outside with a loud _CLANK._ His body shook like a leaf as he gulped for air like a dying fish. Dusty water had filled his lungs and set his entire chest ablaze and everything hurt, his uncontrollable wet rasping only exacerbating the pain. The soft padding that covered his right side had been shredded like paper and even some of the metal plating encasing his chest had been punctured through with jagged holes. Tatters of blood-soaked kevlar wrapped around his midsection and bobbed on the reddish waves that lapped against the walls. Every twitch, every breathless heave sent spikes of pain shooting in all directions. The most movement he could manage under the crushing weight of the suit was to roll over onto his good side and curl up like an injured pillbug. Tears stung his eyes as he spit up mouthfuls of water between airless gasps.

The catwalk vibrated.

The vibrations thudded in a recognizable pattern. Footsteps. He had to get up. Something was coming. He had to get up, _now. **  
**_

A weight pressed against his shoulder, and with the help of a sudden spike of energy, he lashed out at it. Not that the energy he had left was enough to do much of anything at the moment - the attempted 'punch' only succeeded to flail his arm in a random direction, far too weak and misaligned to cause any real damage. He scrabbled weakly against the ground, trying to force himself up to no avail. The suit was too heavy. He gritted his teeth and sucked in pained breaths. He couldn't go out like this. Not _now_. Not like _this_. Not after everything he'd already been through-

"Freeman! Freeman, it's me! Stop fighting!"

A human. It was a human. His chronically tense muscles relaxed under their grip.

Another fit of coughing wracked his body.

"Are you alright?!"

Gordon responded by wheezing out even more bloody liquid. His chest ached with a hollow pain, but at least now he could get in some oxygen.

A moment of silence passed as the man laid a hand gently on his side and began to lift the damaged padding. Gordon didn't resist. That is, until the man's hand slipped, causing him to accidentally jab a finger into one particularly deep hole with a horrified gasp and a loud _s_ _quelch._ His hand came away drenched in red. Gordon grunted and curled inward even tighter, impulsively clutching at his wounds with clawed hands and kicking at the floor.  
"I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry! I- ah- I-I think there's a medical station up above, I'll be right back, please don't move around too much-"  
The hurried clacking of his footsteps began to fade, along with the sound of his shakily whispered prayers.

Gordon wanted to beg him not to go, to not leave him to bleed out alone here on the cold metal floor, but he could barely even catch his breath - let alone think clearly enough to sign or get his attention some other way. The weight of the suit felt like it was smothering out what little life he had left, and the deathly cold shiver racing down his spine served as a grim reminder that shock was quickly setting in. 

As he laid on the floor in this state, the smaller details of his surroundings started to come into focus for one reason or another. Dissolved rust formed a gritty orange paste with the thin layer of water on the catwalk and soaked into his gloves. Bright fluorescent lights seared streaks in his blurry vision and stabbed ruthlessly into his already aching head. The recently disturbed water behind him sloshed quietly back and forth, oddly soothing despite the circumstances. Metal and salt made their sharp flavors known in his mouth. A disconcerting, rhythmic gurgle echoed through his head. The sound of his own labored breathing. Probably a punctured lung. 

Collapsed lung. 

Shattered ribs, maybe. Ruptured organs, definitely.

He was losing a lot of blood. It sparkled in the light as it mixed with dirty water and ran down the dented metal of his chestplate like steady rivulets of crimson rain.

It was freezing in here. 

The cold washed over him like a blanket, and a warm darkness beckoned. If he could just close his eyes for a minute......

  
"Freeman?"

  
"Freeman?!"

  
Vibrations met his still body as something approached. Was it calling his name? He couldn't tell, and only vaguely recognized the sensation of a hand shaking his shoulder.

  
_"Freeman!!"_

This time, the shaking wasn't so gentle. **_"Freeman!!!"_**

_That_ hurt.

Gordon's eyes snapped open with a sharp gasp followed by strained retching as the damaged muscles in his abdomen heaved and contracted involuntarily.

"Oh thank _heavens,_ you're alive. You're alive. I don't think I could stand to watch anyone else die today."

He dropped to a crouch, tentatively planting both hands on Gordon's shoulder. Whether it was to brace his own trembling body or Gordon's, he couldn't tell.

"We......" he paused with a sigh. "We're going to have to get you up somehow. Move you, somehow. The medical station is up above - where you were earlier? Remember? So I'm going to have to move you."

He adjusted his grip. "It's going to hurt. I'll apologize now."

"One, two, _three-_ "

With a heavy _shove_ , Gordon found himself flat on his back, his bad side slamming into the ground with a wet _thunk_. A scream he barely recognized as his own rang in his ears.

The scientist hissed through his teeth. "I'm sorry-"

He bent down and wrapped his arms securely around Gordon's legs - one foot awkwardly draped over his shoulder, secured in place with his left arm, and the other squeezed in the vise grip of his right elbow - and began to pull, grunting and straining from the weight. Whoever had designed the HEV suit had not gone lightly on the metal. It made sense, considering the fact that it was specifically designed to minimize the effects of ionizing radiation and chemical hazards on the user's body; that being said, the thick plating made any real movement without power extremely difficult, including the transportation of someone unlucky enough to find themselves incapacitated while wearing one. But by some miracle, Gordon's limp body began to move, sliding along with a horrible metallic **_SCREE-EE-EE-CH_** as the man leaned back and used all of his body weight to drag him away from the water. His eyes drifted closed as he moved along the ground. The light hurt too much.

Eventually, rough concrete scratched underneath him instead of metal. The scientist's hands released, letting Gordon's feet drop to the floor. With a sigh, he placed his hands on his hips and paced back and forth. "What to do, what to do, what to do....."

He ran his fingers thoughtfully along the rungs of the ladder, gazing up at the top.

"Can you?....."

He took one look at Gordon and shook his head. "No, no, of course you can't, what am I saying, what was I thinking......."

He lifted Gordon's arm as if to test its weight, and gave another frustrated sigh. 

"I....I can't. I just- I can't. There's really no way to get you up, is there, why did I think........"

Suddenly, his face brightened and he set Gordon's arm back down, laying it gently across his chest with a reassuring pat.

"Wait right here- well, I suppose you're not going anywhere, but.....I'll be right back, I promise you!"

With that, he ascended the ladder and dipped out of sight.

The sound of Gordon's quick heartbeat scuttled from one side of his skull to the other, fluttering weakly in his chest and pausing every second or so to take the opportunity to leap into his throat whenever his erratic breathing hitched. His limbs were made of solid lead, his eyelids even heavier. The only outward sign that he hadn't yet succumbed to his injures was his uncontrollable shivering and quiet, shallow breaths that echoed back to his ears in the small corridor. Pain wasn't much of an issue anymore. All he could feel was the cold _,_ slowing his mind to a drowsy crawl and trickling through his veins like an icy stream as it wrapped its soothing hands around his shoulders and ushered him gently into hibernation.

The darkness pooling behind his eyes looked warm and soft. It looked like sleep. It looked like rest. His hand twitched, numb and foreign. It didn't feel like his own anymore. Void enveloped his every thought like wool blankets and heated drinks on a winter night and softly called him home with enticing whispers of respite and liberation. Something far away urged him not to go, but its distant cries fell on deaf ears.

The void was comfort and safety, and Gordon let himself relax into its open arms.

But in the midst of the darkness, a different warmth bloomed to life. It rippled outward from a point on his side, reminding him of the weight of his physical form with a hot jolt. His slack jaw, his chilled fingers, his limp arms, his weakened legs, all emerged from the unknown and caught him unawares with the worst case of pins and needles he'd ever had in his life. It raced up and down his body like TV static. And it _hurt._ Although he still couldn't move he could feel his side moving of its own accord as the damaged tissue writhed and squirmed, knitting itself back together in an almost supernatural dance of flesh and bone. Something deep in his chest released tension he'd forgotten was there with a wet _pop_ and Gordon gasped as cool air rushed in to inflate his lungs. An awful crunching sound he knew he'd never be able to scrub from his memory signaled the process of his ribs forcing themselves back into their proper places as freshly healed organs slid aside to make way for them and the hot sensation burning in his core branched outward, binding each deadly puncture wound with a healing warmth until they faded into insignificance. 

Slowly, almost as if he'd forgotten how, Gordon opened his eyes. The dark silhouette bent over him came into blurry focus.

"Are you with me, Freeman?"

Instead of nodding or trying to lift his hands to sign, he produced a strained croaking sound.

The man's hands flew to his side, lifting the padding in a panic. "No no no no no, I could have sworn that was enough, I-"

As his mind began to clear, Gordon realized that making a sound like that may not have been the most reassuring thing he could have done. With great effort, he flopped his arm over his torso, grabbed the man's hand to get his attention, and fingerspelled "<I-M F-I-N-E.>"

"Oh thank goodness," he whispered with a sigh of relief, letting go of the torn armor and falling back into a kneel. He chuckled nervously. "Had a bit of a......close call, back there, didn't you?"

Gordon caught a glimpse of a softly glowing fluid resting the scientist's lap, confined within the walls of a small cylinder. The moderate blue light that emanated from it instantly put his mind at ease.

"Oh - here. Take these."

Gordon felt something being pressed onto his face. He could see again.

"Your glasses. They were floating by the catwalk. I do apologize - I cleaned them off the best I could, but they're still a little cracked."

'A little' was an understatement. A thick black line snaked across his field of vision, straight from one side to the other, accompanied by a thousand spidery cracks branching off from it like the electric tendrils of a lightning bolt. It wasn't optimal, but it was better than being effectively blind. He would get used to it soon enough.

"Do you feel alright?"

Gordon nodded hesitantly. All that remained of his brush with death was a dull ache and a bit of lightheadedness. 

<"What did you do?"> he signed with clumsy hands. He'd experienced the medical miracle of Black Mesa's medical facilities before, but this was far beyond anything he'd thought they were capable of.

"See this?" he held up the cylinder, a syringe. "To tell you the truth, I'd completely forgotten we had this stuff until now. It's incredible. They've only installed containers of it into a few medical stations for testing purposes, but rumors say a single injection can heal even the worst of wounds." He smiled. "I never believed them, but evidently it's true. You're lucky we happened to have it here."

"<But what _is_ it?>"

"I....wish I knew."

He quickly pocketed the syringe in his lab coat.

"They haven't told us. Which worries me a little. You know how the higher-ups can be. But I can't deny its effects. "

A million questions spun in his head. He didn't think any amount of tissue healing could reverse severe blood loss. Or fix a collapsed lung. Or mend unrecognizably shattered bones. It didn't make sense. And yet here he sat, very much alive and feeling pretty good to boot.

"Now," the scientist said, reaching out his hand. "Let's see about that power supply."

* * *

* * *

It took more than a few minutes, but with the man's help, Gordon managed to haul himself up the ladder. Upon reaching the top he collapsed against the wall, huffing and puffing. He could get up a ladder with someone else pushing him up from behind, but the full weight of the suit dragging him down made it impossible to stand unsupported for very long.

"<Hey>," he signed as the man popped up over the edge of the hole. "<What's your name?>"

He paced towards him, wiping the rust off his hands on his blood-stained coat. "Luther. It's Luther. I would have mentioned it before, but it didn't seem important at the time."

"Here," he said, wrapping an arm around Gordon's shoulders. "Come over to the charging station and sit down. I'm no expert, but I do know a little bit about how the hazard suits function. We don't have any tools, but I'll see what I can do."

After brushing away the worst of the dirt and grime, he began to assess the damage.

"Hmm."

Gordon sat as still as possible, allowing him to work.

"It's.....not as bad as it could be. The power supply _is_ damaged, yes, but at least part of it should still be semi-functional. I think the main problem is this piece of metal. It's been bent in such a way that it's putting pressure on the wires back here."

"However," he continued, "It looks extremely fatigued. I'm not sure how it hasn't fallen off on its own yet. If I can just get my hand under it, I might be able to....." With a crack, something broke off the back of the suit and clattered against the floor. "Ah! There we go." He connected the suit's charging port with the station, and the familiar whirr and beeping as it worked brought Gordon a reassurance he never thought he'd feel from that sound.

"It'll charge, but it won't _stay_ charged for nearly as long as it should. You're going to have to be extra careful to stay on top of how much power you have and be _even more careful_ to not damage it any further. It's in a rather delicate state."

He unplugged the charger with a quiet beep. _"POWER. ONE HUN-HUNDRED PERCENT."_ Although still a little rough, its voice rang clear.

"It also appears that the medical apparatus installed back here is completely destroyed. Which means-"

"<No morphine.>"

He sighed. "No morphine. Though......I wonder if that might be for the best."

Gordon snorted. He certainly could have used it about 15 minutes ago.

He stood, testing the weight of the suit. All seemed to be well. Walking was just as easy as it should have been and the plated armor functioned more like a second skin than something bulky and cumbersome. It felt good to be capable again.

The water outside drew his eyes, still stained dark red. He could see little bits of padding and alien flesh bobbing on the surface from here.

As he ran his hand over the newly scarred skin of his stomach, it hit him like a freight train.

He'd never been so close to death before. Sure, he'd had close encounters with it plenty of times and it wasn't a concept he was unfamiliar with by any means, but this was different. He'd never been so utterly helpless. Never before had he been nothing more than _prey_.

If no one else had been around, he would have easily faded away without a trace or anyone to mourn the fact that he was gone. Lost and left to rot, or worse. He'd looked death directly in its eyes and let himself fall forward into its embrace, and the only reason he was breathing now was someone else's intervention. He'd stared into the abyss and the abyss had welcomed him in like an old friend.

He could have done without that kind of familiarity.

"Are you sure you're alright, Freeman?"

He turned to face him, his hands beginning to shake.

"<I almost died.>"

Luther sighed. "You.....well, yes, you did. There's really no way to sugarcoat it, is there. I'm just glad that-"

"<Thank you.>"

Gordon drew him into a tight hug, his shoulders heaving with barely restrained sobs.

"<Thank you.>"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I WILL ATTEMPT to update every few days or so. Don't know how that's gonna go though, since it's finals week and I am in academic hell. But I will try. We'll see.
> 
> It's funny how......not scary the ichthyosaur is in-game. I don't know if my game is glitching or what but when I played through this section for reference I noticed that it's not even animated, it just kind of makes weird noises and flips around aggressively. Kind of funny, to be honest. But I figure that realistically, being stuck in a dying powersuit and getting dropped into a small body of water with a very large 'fish' that really wants to eat you would get you chewed up pretty bad. Thank goodness for Xen water, huh?


End file.
